On Saturday, the Pilot Point community reminded another family what it means to be a part of the small town with a benefit and auction for Hudson Dean.
The fight against Lyme disease started for Hudson in August, though it took several months for medical professionals to identify the actual cause.
“I’d asked several doctors to test him for Lyme disease, and they didn’t want to,” Hudson’s mom Darci Dean said. “They said, ‘It won’t change our course of treatment. We’re only going to treat his symptoms because he’s already taken the antibiotics that we would give for Lyme disease.’” She explained that there is wide speculation in the medical community as to whether chronic Lyme disease even exists, though the change in Hudson has been evident.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people here that have had the same experience as us with conventional medical doctors,” Darci said. “They don’t want a diagnosis of Lyme disease to be on your chart because then they can’t diagnose you with something else they can provide a pharmaceutical for and bill you for it.”
Hudson, accompanied by Darci, has been receiving specialized treatment in Florida for several months now designed around killing the disease and rebuilding his immune system so he can continue to recover on his own once he leaves.
“We’re hoping he doesn’t live with this the rest of his life,” Darci said. “We’ve met people that ... have had Lyme disease and have been battling it for more than a decade.”
The idea for the benefit, spearheaded by Kim Longabaugh, Stephanie Joyner and Jessica Carter, was born and hosted with a two week turn around after the community learned Hudson would have to extend his stay at a more expensive facility to continue treatment.
“We just started talking about how they needed something like this,” Longabaugh said. “That was two weeks ago. We had businesses around the community donate auction items and ended up with 51 items. Uncle Beto’s came in and catered, and we had sponsors in Platinum Ford, Nathan and Shannon Brown and CMV Customs.”
Additionally, the event, hosted at the American Legion Post 550, sported a 50/50 raffle for the family, a kids zone with bounce houses and a mechanical bull, face painting and live music from the Backroad Travelers.
“We just started working and put it together,” Longabaugh said. “Being in the PTO, we’re used to putting these kinds of events on. We just started contacting our contacts. I have all my usual volunteers helping. It’s just us as moms coming together to help another mom.”
Several of the Dean family were in attendance, though Darci stayed with Hudson.
“It’s really touched us,” Darci said. “The people that know us and love us organized the event, but we thought they would sell a couple T-shirts and have ... a pancake or spaghetti dinner. I had no idea it would turn into something that would attract so much attention and get so much support, but it was amazing to see. We haven't been around that long [in Pilot Point], but we’ve made some amazing friends here. It’s left us speechless.”
Hudson expressed his own gratitude in a Facebook video he and his mom posted Tuesday. In it, Darci does most of the speaking while the weary 11-year-old struggles to keep his eyes open.
“It’s almost my nap time, but I hope you have a good rest of your day,” Hudson said. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
